Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Saturday: Matchups set up well for Bubba Chandler, Ben Brown

ESPN FantasyJun 12, 2026, 03:29 PM ET
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Check out all of our starting pitcher rankings and other lineup selection tools here to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions. All fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: All information is accurate as of the time of publication. For updates, as well as any breaking news that might impact today's MLB slate, be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball buzz.

Other resources: RP depth chart | 2026 Rankings
ESPN's 2026 Player Rater | Betting notes for Saturday

STARTING PITCHERS FOR SATURDAY

Pitchers are ranked in order of their Forecaster/Daily Notes projected fantasy points (FPTS), using ESPN's standard scoring system (2 points per win, minus-2 per loss, 3 per inning, 1 per K, minus-1 apiece per hit or walk allowed, minus-2 per earned run allowed).

T: The pitcher's handedness. OPP: Opposing team. RST%: The pitcher's roster percentage in ESPN leagues. W%: The individual starting pitcher's win probability using ESPN projections. IP: Projected innings pitched. H+BB: Projected hits plus walks allowed. ER: Projected earned runs allowed. K: Projected strikeouts.

If a team is planning on using an "opener" to start their game, but will rely on a "bulk pitcher" to follow him on the mound after 1-2 innings, the bulk pitcher is listed and indicated with an asterisk.

FPTS	Pitcher	T	Opp	Rst%	W%	IP	H+BB	ER	K
16.0	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	R	@CWS	99.8%	56%	6.6	7.1	2.1	7.0
13.9	Tarik Skubal	L	@CLE	98.6%	38%	5.8	6.3	2.0	6.6
12.7	Sean Manaea	L	ATL	2.4%	32%	5.3	5.7	1.7	5.6
12.3	Michael Soroka	R	@CIN	60.1%	45%	6.0	7.1	2.8	6.5
11.3	Kevin Gausman	R	NYY	96.1%	33%	5.7	6.8	2.4	5.6
11.0	Jacob deGrom	R	@BOS	98.3%	34%	5.7	6.8	2.8	6.1
11.0	Bubba Chandler	R	MIA	21.4%	42%	5.7	7.4	2.4	5.6
10.7	Martin Perez	L	@NYM	11.5%	27%	5.3	6.2	1.8	4.6
10.7	Ben Brown	R	@SF	48.3%	35%	5.8	7.2	2.5	5.4
9.9	Cam Schlittler	R	@TOR	98.7%	25%	5.1	6.2	2.1	5.0
9.4	Noah Cameron	L	HOU	25.6%	37%	5.8	7.5	3.0	5.2
9.2	Sean Burke	R	LAD	11.6%	25%	5.9	8.0	2.9	5.7
9.0	Trevor McDonald	R	CHC	5.8%	29%	5.5	7.1	2.5	4.5
8.7	Luis Castillo	R	@WSH	55.0%	34%	5.2	6.5	2.6	4.6
8.1	Jose Soriano	R	TB	89.2%	35%	5.8	8.5	3.0	5.2
7.9	Aaron Nola	R	@MIL	39.8%	33%	5.3	7.3	3.1	5.3
7.9	Cade Cavalli	R	SEA	15.4%	24%	5.4	7.6	2.9	5.3
7.7	Matthew Liberatore	L	@MIN	4.7%	30%	5.4	7.7	3.0	5.2
7.7	Ranger Suarez	L	TEX	73.2%	28%	5.4	7.5	3.2	5.5
7.7	Trey Gibson	R	SD	0.0%	28%	5.3	7.1	2.7	4.5
7.5	Shane Drohan	L	PHI	3.4%	12%	4.4	5.9	2.1	4.6
7.1	Connor Prielipp	L	STL	2.7%	25%	4.9	7.3	2.6	5.1
6.6	Jeffrey Springs	L	COL	15.3%	35%	5.3	7.4	3.6	5.1
6.5	Mike Burrows	R	@KC	3.1%	31%	5.7	8.2	3.6	5.0
6.4	Randy Vasquez	R	@BAL	30.8%	30%	5.3	7.3	3.1	3.9
6.4	Griffin Jax	R	@LAA	30.0%	18%	4.7	6.5	2.6	4.3
6.2	Rhett Lowder	R	ARI	3.5%	15%	4.6	6.4	2.5	4.2
5.7	Joey Cantillo	L	DET	17.1%	12%	4.4	6.8	2.6	4.8
1.4	Kyle Freeland	L	@ATH	0.7%	21%	5.0	8.3	5.0	4.9
	TBD		@PIT	0.0%	0%	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Pitchers to stream on Saturday

Four of Noah Cameron's last five outings have been quality starts, with the lefty registering a 1.80 ERA and 0.67 WHIP over that span. Cameron has benefited from a low .211 BABIP in this stretch, but the 31 strikeouts with just three walks over these 30 frames indicate he's also pitching very well. Next up is a home affair with the Houston Astros. Over the last month, the Astros have fanned at an elevated clip facing left-handers.
Ben Brown was initially slated to start Friday, but the Chicago Cubs opted to give everyone an extra day and insert Javier Assad into their rotation for the opener of the weekend series with the San Francisco Giants. Brown continues to excel as a starting pitcher, with the addition of a sinker as the primary reason for his improvement. It's more of a contact pitch, so Brown's strikeouts are down, but his control is better. He's inducing more ground balls, hence yielding fewer home runs. Fantasy managers are trusting the change is real, as his rostership has gone from almost nothing to 48.8% and is climbing. Brown should continue to roll in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park against the fifth-worst home wOBA facing righties.
Bubba Chandler is still a work in progress, so this is more of a matchup play when the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Miami Marlins. Chandler's main asset is strikeout upside, but the Marlins generally put the ball in play. That said, they lack patience and power, and Chandler has the stuff to rack up strikeouts against any lineup.

Pitchers to avoid on Saturday

Backing left-handers at home against the Colorado Rockies has been one of the best plays over the past several seasons. Under normal circumstances, Jeffrey Springs would be in play against the Rockies, even in Sutter Health Park. However, with the Athletics continuing their homestand in Las Vegas Ballpark, using Springs is off the table.

Hitters to stream on Saturday

Most fantasy managers will be focusing on the Rockies-Athletics matchup in Sin City, so let's go under the radar and head over 2,000 miles northeast to Queens, where the New York Mets will host the Atlanta Braves. Martin Perez has helped the Braves remain among the best teams in MLB. However, his ERA estimators are over a run higher than his 3.02 mark. Call it a hunch, but the Mets' bats have been exhibiting power at home lately, especially against left-handers. Bo Bichette, Mark Vientos, Francisco Alvarez and Marcus Semien are candidates to take Perez deep.